Match-machine.



no. 668,519. Patented Fab. I9, lm.

w.-F. HuTcHmsoN.

MATCH MACHINE.

(Application Med June 18, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheet l.

(l0 Nudel.)

wlNEssEs; afi/WM ATTORNEY Nonms sans cov, rnorma, wAsngNamN, n4 e.

No. 668,5I9. Patented Feb. I9, 190|. W. F. HUTCHINSON.

MATCH MACHINE.

(Application led June 16, 1900.) (No Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 2,

Ncmms vrrcns cu., Purim-uma.. WASHINGTON, D. c.,

.W w NN wl Mw. ,.1 we@ e www Patented Feb. I9, I90I.

- w. F. HuTcHlNsnN.

MATCH MACHINE. (Application medium, 1s, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3,

(No Model.)

ATTORNEY No. 668,5I9. Patented Feb. I9, |901- W. F. HUTCHINSUN.

fill-WGHV MACHINE.

(Application filed .Tuna 16, 1900.1

(No Modal.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

WITNESSES: TTVEEZE- Y f INVENTOR a ATTORNEYS UNETE lVIIlLIAll/I FULTONHUTOII'INSON, OF" BOUNDBROOK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE ATLAS MATCHCOMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

iviAi'cH-wiAcH/ins.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 668,519, dated February19, 1901.

l Application filed Jue 16, 1900. Serial No. 20,491. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FULTON HUTCHINSON, of Boundbrook, county ofSomerset, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in lVlatch-lliachines, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in matchmachines,and particularlyto that class 1o of machines in which strips of veneer the thickness ofa match-splint and with the width corresponding to thelength of thesplint are cut int-o splints and the splints held ready for dipping anddipped, if desired.

One object of my invention is to produce a machine of this characterwhich is as simple possible, which is adapted to cutsimultaneouslyalarge number of veneer strips, and which has a knife andcomb held in parzo allel relation and arranged so that after a wholeseries of splints are severed by the knife each splint is accurately andautomatically driven into a suitable sticking or carrying device.

z5 Other objects of my invention are to produce a machine which has verylittle liability to get out of order, to arrange the parts so that theycan be readily put in place or removed,if necessary, to provide againstwaste 3o of material, and especially to produce a feed mechanism and aguide-plate for the stock and splints whereby the stock shall be fed4forward beneath the knife just the required distance for a set ofAsplints and the descent of the knife for the act of cutting shall causethe severed splints to just fill the slots of the guide-plate, so thatthe splints may be accurately driven to the carrier.

Still another object of my invention is to 4o construct a machine sothat the knife after it has severed a series of splints will hold themin position in the guide-plate and to arrange the comb which pushes thesplints to the carrier so that it shall make a full stroke backward andforward while the knife is on the upper stroke,insu ring the perfectsticking of the splints before they are released by the knife.

To these ends my invention consists of certain features of constructionand combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described andclaimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part cfthis specification, in which similar figures of reference refer tosimilar parts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a side elevation of the machine embodying my invention. Fig.2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the machine. Eig. 3 is avertical cross-section on the line 3 tof 6o Fig. 2 looking toward thefront of the machine. Fig. 4 is a cross-section on the same line as Fig.3, but looking in the opposite direction; and Fig. 5 is an enlargeddetail longitudinal section showing the most important part of themachine*viz., the cutting and sticking mechanism.

The machine has a suitable and substan- `tial frame, so that the partswill be as rigid as` possible, and, as illustrated, this frame 7ocomprises a base 10, on which is supported. the body portion 11,and thetwo sides are connected by transverse tie-rods 12.

In the upper part of the machine is a vertical slideway formed on eachside of the frame and made between the side bars 13 and the middlevertical bar 14, the side bars being adjustable in and out in acustomary manner, so that they may be made to nicely lit the twoverticallyreciprocating cross- 8o heads 15 and 16. The cross-head 15 isconnected at the ends by pitmen 17 to the disks 19, having a crankconnected with the disks, as shown at 18. The disks 19 are attached to ashaft 20, which is journaled transversely in the machine-frame, and theshaft is driven by the gears 21 and 22, connecting it to thedriving-shaft 23, (see Fig. 2,) and the latter is driven by a pulley 24or other suitable driving means. The cross-head 16 is moved 9o up anddown by means of the levers 25,which are pivoted to the ends of thecross-heads and are fulcrumed, as shown at 26, on the machine-frame 11,the levers 25 connecting by links with the slide-bars 23, each of whichis provided with an enlarged portion 29, in which is a cam-groove 30,essentially semicircular in shape, which groove receives the pin 31 of awheel or disk 32 on the countershaft 33. The shaft 33 is journaledparallel loo with the shafts 20 and 23. Itl has a gearwheel 34 meshingwith and driven by the gear-wheel 22, as above referred to.

The slide-bars 2S are held in suitable keepers 35 and 36, and byreference to Fig. 1 it will be noticed that the crank connectionsdescribed cause the cross-head 15 to have a regular up-anddown movement,while the cam mechanism referred to will give the crosshead 1G anirregular movement-that is, it will move it intermittently but quicklyup and down.

It will be noticed that during every halfrevolution of the shaft 33 theslide-bars 23 will be at rest; but when the pin 31 strikes therelatively flat part of the cam-groove 30 the slide-bars will be quicklyreciprocated and the movement imparted to the crosshead 1G.

As hereinafter described, the cross-head 15 carries the splint-cuttingknife, while the cross-head 16 carries the ejecting-comb, and the partsare timed so that the comb will niove down and up, while the cross-head15 and its knife moves up.

The cross-head l5 carries a plain thin knife 37, which moves downwardover the face of the knife-block 3S 41. This knife-block is a guide alsofor the stock, as presently described; but I will call it a knife-block7to avoid confusion of terms. It is arranged transversely in the machine,as shown in Fig. 4, is removably attached to the sides of themachine-frame, and is provided with a series of vertical slots 30, eachof a size to permit a strip of veneer to be thrust through it. Theknife-block 3S has also forwardly-extending arms 38a. These occurbetween the slots 39, being let into the ribs 43 of the feed-table 42,so as to form a continuation of the said ribs and at the same time tostilfen the knifeblock. As a matter of convenience the knifeblock ismade into two parts, the upper part 41 (see Fig. 2) being slottedexactly like the lower part, and this arrangement is to facilitate theremoval of the knife-block in case it should be necessary for anyreason. The knife 37 slides close against the face of the knife-block,so as to shear off smoothly the ends of the veneer strips which extendthrough the slots 39.

Particular attention is called to the relative arrangement of the knife37 and the slotted knife-block. This seems a slight departure from thecommon cutting arrangement, but is an important change for this reason.The most usual way of cutting veneer into splints is by having a knifestrike the side of the Veneer instead of the edge. When this is done, Ihave found from years of experiment that the cutting cannot be madeabsolutelysmooth, except with the greatest difficulty, and, moreover, itis practically impossible to make a single knife cut olf in thissidewise manner a whole series of veneer strips; but by arranging thestock and knife so that the latter strikes upon the edges of the stripsand cuts from edge to edge the knife has the effect of a plane and cutsvery smoothly. It will be seen, then, that this arrangement provides forhaving one knife do all the work, whereas the other arrangement referredto necessitates a multiplicity of knives and imperfect work. Moreover, asingle knife is particularly adapted to hold the splints nicely in theguide-slots 53, as will presently appear.

The machine has a feed-table 42 in front of the knife, which isremovably attached to the machine-frame and has longitudinal paralleland vertical ribs 43, so that the veneer strips may be held lengthwisebetween the ribs. The feeding is effected by the feed-rollers 44 at oneend of the table and the feed-rollers 45 and 45 at the opposite end.'lhere is nothing new about this feed mechanism, and the rollers are allidlers, except the roller 45, which has a ratchet-feed adapted to feedthe strips forward step by step exactly the thickness of a match-splintat each step.

The ratchet-feed is as follows: On one end of the shaft of the roller45a (sce Fig. 5) is a ratchet-wheel 4.7,which is engaged and turned by apawl 48 on the end of the lever 4),which lever is fulcrnmed loosely onthe aforesaid shaft and is slotted longitudinally, so that it may beadjusted and its throw regulated. It

is pivotally connected to a slide-plate 50, which is moved backward andforward, as presently described, and which consequently works the lever49 and the ratchet mechanism therewith connected. This is not shown ordescribed with great particularity, for the reason that the feed can beotherwise made by the use of any of the well-known feeding deviceswithout departing from the principle of the invention. The means ofoperating the plate 50 and the connection of the plate there will behereinafter described.

.Inst behind the knife-block 48 is a guideplate 51, which is removablyattached to the machine-frame, this guide-plate being beveled offpreferably at the top, as shown at 52 in Figs. 2 and 5, and the face ofthe guideplate is slotted vertically, as shown at 53, these slotsregistering with the slots 3f) of the knife-block. Each slot in theguide-plate is thicker than a match-splint by the thickness of the knife37, so that when the knife descends and severs a series of splints itwill cause them to just fill the slots 53, and the knife will hold themthere until the descending comb 54 engages them and pushes them downwardinto the sticking-plate 56 beneath. A comb 54 has its teeth adapted toenter the slots 53 of the guide-plate, and each tooth is thickened andinclined at the top, as shown at 55, so as to fit into the inclinedspace 52 of the guide-plate.

It is obvious that the cutting and ejecting mechanism described can bemade to deliver splints in many usual forms of carrier; but I prefer touse an ordinary plain plate 56, which is perforated, as shown in Fig. 4,to receive the ends of the splints, and the perfo- IOO IIO

rations are adapted toregister with the slots 53 of the guide-plate. Aspresently described, it will be seen that a whole series of these plates56 are fed through the machine, the plates running on a supporting-way56a, and the plates are not shown hinged together; but it will beunderstood that, if desired, they may be connected together they passthrough the machine, so as to be brought into connection With any usualdipping attachment.

The means for feeding the plates is as follows: Each plate 56 has onopposite sides ratchet-teeth 56D, which are engaged by the pawls 57, andthe latter are moved back and forth by the slide-plates 50, to whichthey are attached and which have already been referred to. Theslide-plates 50 are each at.- taehed to a slide 58, (see Fig. 3,) whichmoves back and forth in aslideway formed between rails or plates 59,these being adjustable .on the inner side of the frame Il, as thedrawings show. On the shaft 20, near opposite sides of the machine, arecam-disks 60, having cam-grooves, as shown by dotted lines, whichreceive pins or rollers 61 of the customary kind on the slide bars orplates 58. It will be seen, then, that at every revolution of the shaft2O the slide-bars 58 and slideplates 50 Will be moved backward andforward, and this causes the pawls 57 to engage the teeth 56b and pushthe sticking-plate 56 ahead at each stroke of the slide-plate 50. It isobvious that many forms of ratchet-feed can be substituted for thatdescribed without affecting the prin'ciple of the'invention.

The plates 56 are of a size to be conveniently handled, so that, ifdesired, the splints which they carry may be dipped by hand, and forthis reason, as several plates 56 are contained in the machine at onetime, (see Fig. 2,) I provide means for feeding the first plate as wellas the second. To this end the second set of slide-plates 5()a (see Fig.2) are arranged near the front of the machine, and these are providedwith pawls 57a to engage the ratchet-teeth 56h. The slide-plates 50a areconnected to the slide-plates 50 by tierods 65,so that the two sets ofslide-plates may reciprocate in unison.

To prevent any possible backward movement of the sticking-plate56,0rdinary detents 62 are used to engage the ratchet-teeth 56, thesebeing pivoted on arms 63 and pressed into engagement with theratchet-teeth by springs 64.

The operation of the machine is as follows: A series of veneer stripsare placed between ribs 43 of the feed-table 52, being held, asdescribed, with their edges uppermostand in parallel relation. Thesestrips are fed forward by the feed-rollers 44 and 45 through the slots39 of the knife-block 3841. The ratchet-feed described causes the stripsto pass into the slots 53 of the guide-plate 5l just the thickness of amatch-splint, and they are at this moment beneath the reciprocatingknife 37. As the knife descends it simultaneously severs the splintsfrom the ends of the ven eer strips and forces the severed splints intothe slots 5S, just filling the slots. 'During the descent of the knife37 the ejecting-comb 54 is at rest; but as the knife starts on theupstroke the comb 54, actuated by the cam-andlever mechanism described,makes a quick stroke down and up and strikes the splints while they arestill in engagement with the knife 37, the knife serving as a guide orwall until the splints are driven below the slots 39. The comb 54 drivesthe splints downward into the holes of the sticking-plate 56, whichregister with the slots 53, above referred to. When the comb hasascended and as the knife 37 again descends,the slide-plates 50 aremoved and advance the sticking-plate 56, so as to bring another set ofholes beneath the slot 58.

I wish it distinctly understood that the carrier, which in this casecomprises the plate 56, is not claimed as a part of this invention. Iprefer, however, to use a plate form of carrier because the plate can beheld so rigid in `the machine, and for this reason the holes in theplate are practically certain to register With the slots 53 of theguide-plate, as already remarked. It will be clearly understood thatthese plates may be connected together in any 4mechanical way so as tomake a continuous carrier, if desired, and the customary process fordipping may be used in connection with it. It will benoticed,therefore,from the above description that my invention relateschiefly to the cutting and sticking mechanism, that this is very simple,that the strips of veneer are held so as to cut from edge to edge, whichis, I believe, a novelty in multiple cutting, and, further, that thesplints are cut by a single knife, which serves as a guide, whichprevents their displacement until they are driven into a carrier.

Having thus described my inyention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

I. A match machine comprising guide mechanism adapted to hold aplurality of veneer strips in parallel relation, a reciprocating knifearranged to strike the edges of the veneer strips and cut them from edgeto edge, a slotted guide-plate to receive the splints severed from theends of the veneer strips, and means for ejecting the severed splintsfrom the guide-plate during the back stroke of the knife.

2. A match-machine comprising a horizontal feed-table having guidingmechanism for holding a series of veneer strips, edge up, and inparallel relation; a vertically-reciprocating knife, arranged to cut theveneer strips from edge to edge; a vertically-slotted guideplate behindthe path of the knife, feed mechanism to move the veneer strips thethickness of a match-splint beneath the knife, and

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an ejecting mechanism to force the splints from the guide-plate.

3. A lnatch-machine comprising a horizontallymoving carrier, guidingmechanism above the carrier adapted to hold a series of veneer strips,edge up, and in parallel relation; a feed mechanism to advance theveneer strips step by step the thickness of a matchsplint at each step,a vertically-reciprocating knife to sever splints from the ends of theveneer strips, a vertically-slotted guide-plate behind the knife toreceive the severed splints, and an ejecting-cornb operating during thenpstroke of the knife to force the splints from the guide-plate into thecarrier.

4. A match-machine comprisingy a knifeblock having parallel slotstherein adapted to receive veneer strips and hold them in parallelrelation, a single knife sliding over the face of the knife-block andadapted to cut the veneer strips from edge to edge, a guide-plateopposite the knife-block, said plate having slots to receive the severedsplints, and an ejecting device to force the splints from-theguide-plate.

5. A match-machine comprising a vertically-slotted knife-block adaptedto receive a series of veneer strips and hold them in parallel relation,a single knife moving across the face of the knife-block adapted tosever the ends of the veneer strips which protrude from the knife-block,a slotted guide-plate behind the knife-block, the slots being adapted toreceive the splints severed from the ends of the veneer strips, and anejeetingcombarranged to move into the guide-plate and eject the splintsWhile the latter are still held by the knife.

6. A match-machine comprising a horizontally-movable carrier, aknife-block located above the carrier and provided with a series ofparallel vertical slots, a feed mechanism for feeding veneer stripsthrough the slots of the knife-block, step by step, the thickness of asplint at each step, a single knife reciprocating across the face of theknife-block so as to simultaneously sever the protruding ends of theveneer strips thus forming splints, a guide-plate opposite theknife-block, said guide-plate having vertical slots to receive thesevered splints, and an ejecting-comb moving while the knife stillengages the splints, to push the splints from the guideplate into thecarrier.

7. A match-machine comprising a horizontal feed-table having guidemechanism to hold a series of veneer strips, edge up, and in parallelrelation; a slotted knife-block at the end of the table, the slots ofthe knife-block being adapted to receive the veneer strips, a singleknife sliding across the face of the knife-block to sever a whole seriesof venecistrips, a vertically-slotted guide-plate behind the path of theknife to receive the severed splints, and an ejecting-comb movingthrough the slots of the guide-plate to drive the splints into thecarrier substantially as described.

WILLIAM FULTON llU'lCllINSON.

Witnesses:

WARREN B. HUTcHINsoN, THERON DAVIS.

